GHS wrestlers fare well at state

DETROIT - Gaylord was well-represented in the annual state wrestling meet at the Joe Louis Arena last weekend.

Sophomore Will "The Thrill" O'Neill won three matches in the three-day, double-elimination tournament to earn fifth place overall in the 125-pound weight class of Division II.

Junior Brady Olson won his first match in the 135-pound class to advance to the quarterfinal round. He lost a one-point decision in the quarterfinals and was eventually eliminated in the wrestlebacks.

"Will and Brady both did a great job," said GHS coach Jerry LaJoie. "They were wrestling against the best in the state and they held their own.

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"Both of them are underclassmen. It'll only help them next year and help the team."

O'Neill (48-10) earned decisions over Dan Duncan of Adrian and Pat McKeown of Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg to earn a berth in the final four. He lost his next two bouts, to Phil Plowman of Lake Odessa Lakewood in the semifinals and to Chris Mahaar of Greenville in the quarterfinals of the wrestlebacks. That placed him in a match for fifth place with Troy Pitsch of Grand Rapids Northview.

O'Neill gave his finest performance of the tournament, according to LaJoie, beating the talented Pitsch by a 4-0 decision.

Olson very nearly earned a berth in the final four, but lost a tough match to Brad Vandermolen of Grand Rapids Northview in the quarterfinal round. Olson was trailing Vandermolen 5-0 before staging a remarkable comeback in the second and third periods. He still lost a razor-thin 7-6 decision, however.

"He still wrestled well," LaJoie said. "When you compete at that level, you always gain something, even when you lose."

Olson was winning 3-0 in his first wrestleback match against Evan Major of Monroe Jefferson but got pinned with just 5 seconds remaining in the second period.

LaJoie would have liked to see another Gaylord wrestler or two earn a berth in the state tournament, but overall he was very pleased with the 2000-01 season.

"We're developing a program," LaJoie said. "We have a youth program that's feeding the middle school and a middle-school program that's feeding the high school.

"It's the younger guys who are stepping up now, which is great to see. We've got a lot of young talent coming through the ranks."

LaJoie thanked assistant coaches Karl Henrickson, Don Posgate and K.C. Crawford for all their help during the season and also acknowledged the work of Gaylord Middle School wrestling coach Scott Doederlein and assistant coach Ed Schmidt.

"I've been very fortunate to have knowledgeable assistant coaches to work with," LaJoie said. "You've got to have that for the program to keep growing. I also want to thank the parents for their support."